What I’m Reading
More Signal. Less Noise.
In my studies at Elon University, I am committed to 16 credit hours each semester and leadership positions outside the classroom. Growing up in San Francisco gave me an appreciation for how technology continues to change the world and transform society. I am curious about the future of human civilization, government control of society, and asking questions about the next 5–15 years.
The rise of the Internet will have impact the world as profoundly as the industrial revolution. This change brought by the Internet will transcend business, culture, politics, art and communication. I invite you to explore the future with me and recommend the following blogs.
I have tried using RSS and Twitter but I find that subscribing to blogs via email works best for my daily routine.
Started by Jason Hirschhorn, Media REDEF is a daily curated newsletter with daily “interest remixes” on various industries and pop culture. I am always impressed by the original content, content diversity and depth of the articles Jason and his team pick. This newsletter alone takes the work out of finding high quality information on the Internet. I highly recommend subscribing to the newsletters that interest you.
Industries include:
- Media (media + tech + pop)
- Fashion (fashion + culture + tech + biz)
- Sports (sports + biz + culture + life)
- Music (music + tech + biz + culture)
- Tech (tech + innovation + culture)
Recommended Daily Blogs
Ben Thompson writes four days per week on “on the business, strategy, and impact of technology.” He touches emerging technology trends, the history of the technology industry, business strategy and (my personal favorite) emerging trends in publishing and news. Ben lives in Taiwan and benefits strongly from analyzing the technology industry from abroad. Journalists and entrepreneurs who live in Silicon Valley often lose perspective on the “real world” because they surround themselves with other ambitious and highly entrepreneurial people.
Ben writes one free post focusing on macro trends in technology each week available to the public. He hosts a weekly podcast with James Allworth with further discussion on the previous week’s article and to debate trends and changes in the world. Readers can access more timely and in-depth analysis of current trends through the Daily Update. I highly recommend paying $10 per month for direct access to Ben’s thinking and alternative perspective on the world.
Recommended post: https://stratechery.com/2015/aggregation-theory/
Neil Cybart started Above Avalon as a Tumblr blog about Apple in 2010. As a Wall Street analyst focusing on the financial sector, Neil obsessed over the Apple as it became the largest company in the world. He became dissapointed with the lack of in-depth Apple analysis and decided to start his own blog as a side project. Using his financial background, Neil provides a unique perspective on Apple and has been writing about the company for five years. Neil hosts a weekly podcast episode to supplement his free weekly post. He also publishes exclusive daily updates for Above Avalon members for $10/month.
Above Avalon provides readers with a holistic analysis on Apple. The blog analyzes Apple’s financials, marketing, leadership, product pipelines, rumors and product launches. The blog provides ample context for each story and touches on other topics including media, entertainment, self-driving cars, technology and government.
Recommended post: http://www.aboveavalon.com/notes/2016/1/19/apple-is-moving-beyond-the-iphone
Seth can profoundly communicate a message faster than any writer on this list. Blog topics range from marketing to innovation to leadership, each with a simple message for its readers. The blogs are so short that I have included one below. Seth has more than 2,500 posts for anybody to explore, 18 books and online courses to complement his writing. I commend the way Seth does businesss. He is an effective marketer, a resonant teacher and an inspiration.
Recommended post (below): http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2016/01/its-all-a-mistake.html
Fred Wilson has been a venture capitalist since 1986 and has been writing every day since 2003. He is the founder of Union Square Ventures. Notable investments include Twitter, Foursquare, Soundcloud, Tumblr, Etsy and Zynga. Fred’s blog ranges from conversations about the state of the venture capital industry, USV portfolio companies, and the global economy along random musings from his life.
Recommended post: http://avc.com/2015/10/winner-takes-most/
I generally avoid breaking news and the day-to-day news cycle. The turnover rate makes it hard to keep up with and I prefer to focus on long-term trends. Nevertheless, it is important to stay current with major news stories. theSkimm is the first daily newsletter I enjoy reading. It complements global news with pop culture and humor and the same millennial lingo that drives older generations crazy.
Recommended post: http://www.theskimm.com/recent
Every morning needs some humor and TheLeadSports newsletter is filled with it. The self-proclaimed “uncensored sports page” brings daily sports news and scores with the crass humor that makes me laugh out loud every day. Stories are quick and to the point giving readers to catch up on all the major news in American sports in five minutes every morning.
Other Recommended Blogs
The following blogs are not published daily but I recommend all of them depending on your interests. I have sorted the blogs into categories to make them easier to sort through.
Alex Danco — Thoughts on tech, startups, context, and how things change.
WaitButWhy — Random assortment of in-depth blog posts from a wide variety of subjects. Written by Tim Urban and Andrew Finn.
- How (and Why) SpaceX Will Colonize Mars
- The Fermi Paradox
- The AI Revolution: The Road to Super Intelligence
Farnam Street Blog — A collection of cross-disciplinary knowledge on leadership, decision making, mental models, and combinatorial creativity. Founded by Shane Parrish.
2. The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights
3. The Buffett Formula: How To Get Smarter
Mark Manson — The best personal development advice I have ever seen. Mark’s writing has taught me to be myself, inspired me to explore different cultures and discover my values.
- The Most Important Question of Your Life
- 10 Life Lessons I Learned From Surviving My 20s
- 2. 6 Toxic Relationship Habits Most People Think Are Normal
Brain Pickings — An inventory of cross-disciplinary interestingness, spanning art, science, design, history, philosophy, and more.
- Nietzche on How to Find Yourself and the True Value of Education
- How to Love: Legendary Zen Buddhist Teacher Thich Nhat Hanh on Mastering the Art of “Interbeing”
- Fixed vs. Growth: The Two Basic Mindsets That Shape Our Lives
Paul Graham — Thoughts on technology and society from the founder of YCombinator. I always applaud Paul’s ability to communicate complex and important ideas with simple language.
Sam Altman — President of YCombinator and co-chairman of OpenAI along with . Silicon Valley thought-leader and host of Stanford University’s How to Start a Startup Class with timeless information for any current or aspiring entrepreneur.
How to Start a Startup Lectures
- Sam Altman and Dustin Muskovitz — Welcome, and Ideas, Products, Teams and Execution Part 1
- Peter Thiel — Competition is For Losers
- Reid Hoffman — How to Be a Great Founder
Albert Wegner (Continuations) — I stumbled across Albert’s blog when Fred Wilson linked to it in one of his daily posts. Albert is a partner at Union Square ventures and writes about venture capital, economics, and technology.
- Land, Capital, Attention: This Time it Is the Same
- Capital is No Longer Scarce
- After Paris: Doubling Down on Democracy
Edge.org — Founded by John Brockton, Edge.org seeks to “arrive at the edge of the world’s knowledge, seek out the most complex and sophisticated minds, put them in a room together, and have them ask each other the questions they are asking themselves.” Brockman explores mind-expanding questions with highly creative thinkers who are actively shaping today’s world.
Praxtime — Nathan Taylor explores “What does the future hold?” with a focus on the next 5–20 years by studying emerging trends in science, technology and economics.
- Apple’s strategy tax on services versus Google. Voice interaction becoming the “God paricle” of mobile.
- The algorithmic hand is replacing the invisible hand. But Hayak still applies.
- Understanding the Islamic State (ISIS). A great starting point to the rise of ISIS, they’re plan to takeover the region and how to take them down.
Evonomics — The Next Evolution of Economics
- Akerlof and Shiller: Everything You Need to Know About Free-Market Manipulation
- Survival of the Fairest. Why Corporate Culture is Out of Tune with Human Nature
- What Changes in Society Lead to Mass Killings?
Newsletters
Verticals Collective — I hold a special place in my heart for vertical media companies that closely cover narrow subject matters. I believe they are strongly suited to thrive on the Internet because of the potential reach of each vertical. My passion for verticals stemmed from my internship at Skift, a travel news and data startup founded by Rafat Ali. Rafat curates a newsletter on the business of vertical media companies every few weeks.